Never A Memory
by xSokanon
Summary: The next generation of final fantasy vii chars. Contains my favorite/preferred ships and some OC parents. idk if I'll work on this anymore, but perhaps you guys will enjoy the concept?
1. Chapter 1

"_**I will... never be a memory!"**_

_The words flashed in the fragmented consciousness that was Sephiroth, giving him the strength to twist within the purity that surrounded him. His dark touch brushed against the thoughts next to his, memories pounding into his skull. Well, his mind. Sephiroth had left his skull far behind by now. The memories surged through his mind, the tendrils of human-ness that had touched him left with just a little taste of Sephiroth. Whoever it had been lost themselves a little bit more to the Lifestream, and to the influence of Sephiroth._

_He would have smiled if he could, but instead happiness washed through the fragments. They were mere pieces of Sephiroth, but they were still a whole. They were still one. And they were intent on getting back to the world that they had left behind, to destroying that which was full of weakness and building something new and beautiful from the ashes. Something that She would be proud of._

_Dark thoughts flowed from Sephiroth, twisting through the Lifestream and stretching through the stream of purity until they slammed into something that would never, could never be tainted. The pure essence of Aerith Gainsborough, to be exact. The tendrils retreated swiftly, but not nearly swiftly enough. Her fingers curled around the dark thoughts, and she frowned slightly, sending a soft breath of purity along the tendril. It twisted beneath her touch, recoiling from her, but she didn't let it go until it had lost the darkness. Only then did she allow the tendril to return to the Lifestream._

_As it raced away from her, she turned towards her companion. "We need to send him back."_

_The black haired man's eyes flashed. "No! You saw what happened the first time. He tried to destroy the world again. Only Cloud kept him from 'rebuilding' the world. And Cloud is old now, well on his way to joining us here." He argued fiercely._

_She shook her head simply. "Not like before. I want to take his memories away. I want to let him start over once and for all. Give him one true chance to prove that he's not all bed. Maybe then he can let this darkness go. He has potential! He just needs to see it himself." Her voice was soft and urgent, and she leaned forward, her hands brushing the features of her companion._

_He still looked unconvinced. "No. You can't guarantee that he'll change, can you? And if he does, how can you say that it will before the better?"_

_Aerith grinned at him. "Oh, I can guarantee. I'll give him insurance. Cloud had Tifa, didn't he? All Sephiroth needs is someone to come home to." She grabbed his hand, "C'mon, Zack. He deserves a chance. A fair chance. The odds were always stacked against him. And he won't remember anything. He'll just be the Sephiroth that you knew, the Sephiroth that you loved."_

_Lowering his eyes, Zack took a moment to answer. "I hate seeing him like this. I remember when he was my hero. That's the kind of thing that you don't forget. Even now." He sighed, "You're right, Aerith. You always are."_

_She curled against him, closing her eyes for a moment before letting her form dissolve. "All right, Zack. You'll see. It'll all be okay in the end." With that, Aerith's awareness went racing through the Lifestream. It took her moments to find the tangled remnants of Sephiroth. The darkness recoiled from her delicate, bright touch, but she surrounded it with her essence, her thoughts finding the darkness in him and twisting around it, cajoling it away from Sephiroth until only what was Sephiroth was left._

_It was only the base of Sephiroth, the personality. None of the memories that made him evil. He would be changed by the world that he was sent into, for sure. But Aerith was certain that it would be for the better. So, with a gentle touch and a breath, she sent his essence falling from the Lifestream and tumbling towards the body of a young Turk woman._

_For a few perfect seconds, Aerith was pleased. And then the darkness twisted away from her loosened grasp and launched itself from the lifestream, tumbling down, down, down. Aerith could only watch in horror as the darkness coiled inside another young woman, close to the Sephiroth essence. Close enough that it would reach him with ease, tainting him as it had already done before._

_There was nothing that she could do. She could only trust that Sephiroth would be stronger this time. Strong enough to resist the darkness. And so Aerith retreated back into the depths of the Lifestream, leaving Sephiroth in peace. She could only hope that in the end, things would work out._

The park sprawled around the little girl and her mother. Her mother was napping, snoring softly as she caught up on her much needed rest in the warm summer sun. Meanwhile, the girl was impatient. She had sat quietly for what felt like an eternity, but it had in reality only been a few minutes. Still, Melody Rhapsodos wasn't a particularly patient girl. She was only six, after all. One could only expect so much patience from the petite brunette. Well, she was mostly a brunette – there was a streak of brilliant, bold blue in her bangs and her hair had distinct blonde highlights. Her eyes were blue, interestingly enough, but two different shades of blue, dark ringing her pupil then a lighter blue on the edge of her iris. She wasn't the most interesting looking of girls, but compared to her mother's simple appearance, Melody looked almost exotic.

The little girl had made a split second decision, however. She was on her feet in an instant, slipping silently away from the dozing form of her mother and racing away into the depths of the park. She paused only to glance over her shoulder once to ensure that her mother hadn't woken up before vanishing beneath the shadows of the willow trees. The leaves brushed against Melody's skin and she giggled happily as she wandered along, her head tilted as she listened for the burbling music of a creek. She found it swiftly, her blue eyes brightening at the wildflowers that grew next to it.

Giggling joyously, Melody ran up to the flowers, flopping down on the ground immediately, her small fingers grabbing the first of the flowers and beginning to weave flower after flower together. Her lilting voice filled the tiny clearing within moments as she sang a song spun by her favorite brother. "The snow won't stick to the weeping willows, the cold air won't blow open the windows…" She continued to sing, her voice light and clear, "Fall was always left in your eyes, just a fleck of yellow light, like the sunrise, like the twilight…"

And then there was a voice. The other child had appeared as if from nowhere, his bold green eyes fixed upon her, gleaming with curiosity. He had silver hair; that was the first thing that caught Melody's eyes. His hair was gorgeous. It would match her crown that was by now half finished. But even that though faded when he spoke. "What are you singing?" He questioned curiously, walking up to her without a hint of caution.

She blinked, tilting her head to look up at the larger boy. Her fingers stilled as she shrugged. "Dunno." She murmured softly, looking concerned by the thought for a moment. But she shrugged it off with the swiftness of a child and patted the ground next to her, meaning for him to sit down. "My name's Melody!" She chirped happily, a smile on her features.

The boy shrugged and sat down next to her. "Zephyr." He answered her smoothly. He gave off a cold air, Melody noted. It might have discouraged some, but to Melody, it just made her much more determined to make him smile.

"Can I call you Zephy?" She trilled happily, her eyes gleaming at the thought.

He froze for a moment, his eyes squeezing shut as if he were warding off a half-remembered (or forgotten) memory. But that lasted for a few seconds, not long enough for Melody to decide if she had truly imagined it. "Sure." He shrugged easily, his voice carrying little inflection as he flopped back, hitting the ground with a thud.

Melody smiled as she flopped back as well. The daisy crown fell from her fingers and Melody just stretched out. "I'm here with my mommy!" She announced proudly. She waited for a few moments for him to answer her, but when he didn't, she continued to speak, unperturbed. "Are you here with _your_ mommy?" The girl questioned curiously, glancing at him.

Zephyr shrugged. "Yep." The boy responded.

Melody grinned happily, "Do you have any brothers? I have a brother! His name's Ceol! He wrote the song I was singing. Isn't that awesome? He loves to write songs! And I like to sing them. He's the best big brother ever!" Chattering a mile a minute, Melody couldn't have cared less that he wasn't really responding to her. All she needed was someone to pretend that they were listening. She just needed someone to talk to.

But Zephyr answered her anyways. "I don't have any brothers." He said simply, shrugging.

"Awww, why not?" Curiosity evident in her voice, Melody glanced at Zephyr.

He shrugged again. "Dunno." Zephyr responded in a cool tone. "Guess my dad doesn't like kids." It was more than he had said at all this far.

Melody took it as a victory. "Ooh, is your dad, like, a Turk?" Her Uncle was a Turk! And he didn't like kids! So it made sense that no Turks liked kids. Right? Right!

Zephyr took a moment to answer. "Yep. His name's Rude." Perhaps he was showing off just a bit in that moment. But whatever significance that name would have held to an adult was entirely lost on Melody.

"Rude's a weird name!" She giggled happily, grabbing her daisy chain and starting up with it again without a word to Zephyr. She frowned slightly, her eyes narrowing as she struggled to force her fingers to move in just the right pattern.

Silence fell in their little clearing. For a moment, all was peaceful. But it only lasted for a few seconds before fragmenting. There was a crashing in the bushes, and Melody shot up, dropping the daisy chain at the sight of her mother. "Melody Rhapsodos! Don't you _ever_ disappear like that again! Do you hear me young lady?" The fury in the woman's eyes was a sight to behold, and Melody flinched slightly.

"Sorry, Mommy." She muttered softly.

But her mom wasn't paying attention to her anymore. Instead, the woman's eyes focused on Zephyr's form. And she looked like she had seen a ghost. "Sephiroth?" She hissed softly, eyes widening. "No. No." Shaking her head, the woman grabbed Melody's hand in a tight grip and yanked her away from the silver haired boy.

Melody bit back tears, her eyes watering fiercely as she glanced over her shoulder at Zephyr. "Bye Zephy!" Her voice was a tad choked up, and by the time that they left that little clearing, the tears were flowing freely. She didn't want to say goodbye to her new friend!

What Melody didn't see was Zephyr bending down smoothly and grabbing the daisy chain as he slipped out of the clearing. He was gone swiftly, and the final time that she glanced over her shoulder, he had vanished into the trees, taking the silver hair that she had been so entranced by with him as well. That made the tears flow faster as she clung to her mother's arm, but her mother was having none of that. Her mother was intent on getting as far away from the ghost from her past as humanly possible.


	2. Chapter 2

Melody could officially say she hated high school. It was her first day attending Shinra High – her mother had insisted on home schooling her long after Amusio had begun to attend school. Perhaps the woman was still haunted by the silver haired boy in the meadow, but more likely, it was simply that Melody wasn't cut out for school. She had wandered through her first few periods, enduring introductions with a stoic silence. However, the class that she was truly looking forward to was the one that she wandered into a few moments after the loud bell had announced that she was late.

The teacher was already talking, so Melody sat and waited politely for him to turn his attention towards her. As she waited, she listened quietly to his words, a distant expression on her features. "My name is Mr. Sharpe. This here is our ROTC class. Think of it as a junior military of sorts. This class is the pride and joy of Shinra High School. It is the epitome of the future SOLDIER members of Shinra High. Only the best of the best get in. Some of you have already heard this speech before, but some of you are new to this class. To those of you that are new, if you're looking for an easy credit, get out. ROTC will not be easy. We are preparing you for the exhausting life of a member of SOLDIER This class will not be easy." He seemed to be winding down, as he glanced at Melody, one eyebrow arched as he raked his gaze up and down her form. He looked vaguely disappointed as he spoke. "Your name?" He snapped sharply.

Melody blinked, "Melody." She responded swiftly to his sharp tone. She wasn't sure that she liked this class so far, but Melody _did_ want to be in SOLDIER. More than anything, she wanted to bring glory to the family name. The kind of glory that her father had denied to her when he deserted SOLDIER.

"Last name?" Looking impatient, the man narrowed his eyes at her.

Sighing, Melody answered. "Rhapsodos." She muttered, so softly that it was almost a whisper.

Of course, the man didn't seem to get the hint. She didn't want people to know her last name – it would be all too obvious who her father was, especially to these people. But the man didn't seem to notice (or care). "Rhapsodos?" He echoed, his voice a good deal louder than hers. Around the room, people glanced up sharply at Melody. "As in Genesis Rhapsodos?" Mr. Sharpe narrowed his eyes slightly as he stared at Melody.

Shrugging unhappily, Melody glanced at the floor. "Yup. Genesis Rhapsody's my dad." She muttered dispassionately. So many of the next generation had to deal with this. Cloud and Tifa's son. Vincent Valentine's daughter. Her brother. Reno's and Yuffie's daughter. Cid Highwind's son. There were enough children of the next generation that it shouldn't be a surprise to others anymore. Most of them attended Shinra High as well. So it really shouldn't have been a surprise that one of them would eventually tumble into the ROTC classroom. However, most of the AVALANCHE descendants (and those linked, however distantly, with AVALANCHE) had shown no interest in the military. Zachary Strife had never been one for following orders, and had never shown any interest in SOLDIER, though he did fight. Often. Roxine Valentine just wasn't interested in the structure of the military. Reno's daughter, Elena was a spitfire. Like Zack, she showed no interest in taking orders. Mason Highwind was just uninterested in fighting. And her own brother Amusio was more interested in the history of their planet than anything else.

So it fell on her to be the first of the next generation to wander into the hallowed hallways of ROTC. And Mr. Sharpe seemed to be quite delighted by this turn of events. He clapped her heartily on the back, and with a friendly smile turned to the class. "Everyone, this is Melody Rhapsodos, daughter of Genesis Rhapsodos. I expect you all to make her feel welcome. Melody, you may sit wherever there's an empty seat." He was looking pointedly at a specific seat, however, so Melody wandered up to that one without a word.

She flopped down in the seat with an uncomfortable look down at her desk as the classroom dissolved into discussion. She had chosen a seat between two boys. They couldn't have been more different. The one to her right was cocky to the point of arrogance, with fierce green-blue eyes and silver hair. The boy on her left was more down to earth seeming, with dark hair and deep blue eyes. There was something off seeming about both of them, but Melody couldn't put her finger on it, so she just wriggled a bit in her seat beneath the weight of the stares of those around her and sighed.

Just then, the black haired boy leaned towards her. "Heya, Melody!" He said with a smile, "My name's Roth. It's nice to meet ya." He seemed friendly enough that Melody was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but there was something about him that bugged her. He seemed like he was trying too hard to seem normal. Like he really had something to hide.

The boy next to her rolled his eyes at Roth. "My name's Zephyr." The silver haired boy said smoothly, stretching out idly as he leaned across Melody's desk to eye Roth. "You going to third period today?" Zephyr questioned of his friend, sparing Melody little attention.

Smiling idly to herself, Melody shrugged it off. It wasn't anything to get worked up over, this being ignored thing. Melody didn't mind it, truthfully. Thus far, she kind of preferred Roth. He seemed nicer than Zephyr did. Melody really wasn't one to make snap judgments, so she figured she ought to give Zephyr more of a chance than this first encounter. So the brunette just shifted her weight and peered around Zephyr to eye Mr. Sharpe. For the moment, the man seemed content to let the class buzz with conversation as he sat at his computer. Perhaps he was taking roll, or some such thing.

However, Roth turned his attention towards Melody at that moment, distracting her from her thoughts with a lazy grin on his features. "So you're really Genesis Rhapsodos' daughter?" He questioned, one eyebrow arching as he looked her up and down. "You do kinda look it, actually." Roth nodded absently. "Your mom anyone famous?" he added after a moment, but then he fell silent, giving Melody time to answer him.

Sighing, Melody glanced at the desk awkwardly. "Yeah, that's my dad. My mom's a Chimera Experiment. She's not famous, but she did let me inherit some pretty cool stuff." Just thinking about her mother made Melody smile slightly. Her mother was a Chimera Experiment, the pride and joy of Luyu Merrell and a lab baby just like Genesis had been. That had been how they'd met, though they had both gone into very different parts of DeepGround, in the end. But they'd still fallen in love, and had three children. And they'd lived happily ever after. It was a cute love story, in Melody's mind.

Roth blinked, "Chimera Experiment?" He questioned blankly, frowning slightly. His friend remained silent, leaving Roth the only one to talk for the time being.

Melody could answer this one without missing a beat. How many times had she explained the less famous parts of DeepGround, after all? She could recite the textbook definition of the Chimera Experiment by heart. "They were created by scientists Ronda Merrell and Adonis Merrell, then perfected by their daughter, Luyu Merrell. The intention of the Chimera Experiment was to create the perfect assassin. They're capable of shapeshifting into a single predatory animal, typically a canine or a feline." Melody recited tonelessly. She really didn't like talking about this kind of thing. It felt uncomfortably as if she were bragging about such things. But it really wasn't worth bragging about. Melody could shapeshift into a wolf. Big deal!

Roth looked interested in her words, however. "So why haven't we heard of Chimera Experiments, if they were supposed to be the perfect assassin?" He questioned curiously, leaning back in his seat and tilting his chair off the ground.

"All four legs on the floor, Kusunoki!" Mr. Sharpe snapped from across the room. It seemed as if he had paid more attention to the classroom than Melody had previously thought.

"Sorry, Mr. Sharpe." Roth said smoothly, and sat up straight in the chair.

The swift exchange had allowed Melody to gather her thoughts, and she grinned easily at Roth. "As in Rude's son?" Melody grinned at Roth, amused by the thought, "But anyways. How many unsolved deaths have you heard of? How many of them were killed by animals? Odds are a Chimera was involved in such a death. But they were never supposed to be famous. Just efficient." Melody shrugged slightly. She would never be such a killer. Her parents had done more than enough killing for this generation.

Roth shrugged. "Rude's my daddy-o." He muttered absently, "That's interesting, actually! Zephyr, are you paying any attention?" He glanced sharply at his friend, who had been silent for most of the conversation.

Zephyr snorted, rolling his eyes at Roth. "I'm trying to ignore you two. It's not working out particularly well, since you keep talking to me." Zephyr responded with a rather sharp tone, rolling his eyes as he focused his gaze on the front of the room.

As Zephyr looked up, Mr. Sharpe rose smoothly from his computer and walked up to the white board. "You guys have had enough free time, I believe. It's time for the lesson to begin." He narrowed his eyes in the direction of Melody, Roth and Zephyr, perhaps guessing that they of all people would be the most likely to continue talking once the lesson began.

And indeed they did keep talking. However, Roth did at least make an effort to be subtle about it. He covered his mouth with one hand and hissed in Melody's direction, "Do you have lunch after this?" Roth muttered quietly.

"Uhh…" Melody glanced down at the schedule that she kept in her lap, "Yep." She whispered in response.

Roth grinned, "Wanna eat with us?" He then sneezed loudly and removed his hand, not seeming to expect a response. So Melody just nodded with a light shrug, and Roth seemed to accept that, as he too focused his attention on Mr. Sharpe. Reluctantly, Melody did the same.

The next hour and a half dragged on and on. When the bell finally rang, Melody was starting to doubt her decision to choose this class. Maybe a life in the military wasn't for her. She wasn't sure she wanted to walk in her father's footsteps, anyways. Maybe she'd take an Animal Science class instead?

But when Roth glanced over his shoulder at her, having already reached the door, and grinned at her, Melody forgot her doubts. "Coming?" Roth called, grabbing Zephyr's arm as the other guy tried to move out the door.

The two waited for her, though Zephyr was rather unwilling to wait, but Melody hurried to pack her stuff up and she wandered up to the door with an idle smile on her features. "Come on guys!" She said with a cheerful smile, her stomach rumbling at the thought of food. She had cookies in her lunch, made by her father, rather than her mother, but then, her father was a far better cook than her mother could ever hope to be.

When they wandered into the cafeteria and claimed a table, Melody flopped down and waited as the two went through the lunch line. It was only when they came back that Melody broke into her lunch, digging a paper bag out of her backpack and pulling out her food. She settled in to eat in a comfortable silence as a few more people appeared, and quite a few girls staked out a table nearby, many of them eyeing either Roth or Zephyr carefully.

For a moment, everything was peaceful. And then Melody's least favorite brother marched right up to her and stared down his nose at her. "MELODY RHAPSODOS." He snapped sharply. "You are not sitting here. You are not sitting with them." Amusio's voice was fierce, and he narrowed his multi-shaded blue eyes at his little sister. "I am not going to allow it."

Melody rolled her eyes. Amusio was perhaps the only one who could get a rise out of her without doing anything. She had always been convinced that the sun rose and set on Ceol. Maybe it wasn't fair, but it was true. "Amusio, can you give it a rest?" She hissed softly, shaking her head as she gazed up at her brother.

"No!" Amusio snarled, "Come on. You're sitting with me. Those two would be a horrible influence. You'll thank me later." The sharp tone to his voice wasn't missed by Melody, and she narrowed her eyes slightly.

However, she tried to remain reasonable. "Can you trust my judgment for once? I think your girlfriend's looking for you, anyways." Melody glanced meaningfully in the direction of the girl that Amusio had a crush on – the petite black haired girl that was the daughter of none other than Vincent Valentine.

As she predicted, Amusio was instantly distracted. He shot her a dark look. "I'll deal with you later." He snapped and stalked off, pasting a smile on his features as he went to go talk to Roxine.

"Was _that_ Ceol?" Zephyr asked with a raised brow.

Melody jumped slightly at Zephyr's words. So he _did_ remember. Why hadn't he mentioned it before? But Melody shrugged the thought off. "No. Ceol's dead. That's Amusio. He's my other brother." Melody muttered. She bit her lip fiercely to fight back the tears that always struggled to the surface when she thought of her brother.

Zephyr actually looked a little bit contrite. "Ah. I'm sorry, Melody." He murmured smoothly.

Shrugging, Melody glanced down at the table. She didn't want to talk about it.

Luckily, Zephyr seemed to understand. "Do you still make daisy chains?" He questioned softly, scooting a little bit closer. Perhaps he didn't want their conversation to be overheard?

Melody shrugged again, falling uncharacteristically quiet.

The table was silent, Roth's eyes narrowing. Something flashed in them, something that made Melody flinch back, but the look was gone before Melody had time to react, and she glanced down at the table when Zephyr spoke. "Do you remember me?" His voice was a soft murmur, one that barely reached Melody's ears.

She laughed softly, the tears vanishing with a practiced ease as Melody glanced up to answer him. "Of course I do." Melody answered, "How could I forget?" Indeed, the silver haired boy with his brilliantly green eyes had haunted her dreams for years. She had even wandered back to that park a few times and sought out that clearing. Of course, Melody had never succeeded in finding it again. It seemed as if it had vanished, but that really didn't make sense. So Melody had given up searching a few years back, focusing instead on trying to get her mother to allow her to attend school.

And that had finally paid off, it seemed.

Zephyr's dry chuckle distracted Melody from her thoughts, and the boy stretched his arms over his head with one smooth motion, effectively ending the conversation. With that, Roth seemed to relax as well, laughing loudly at some joke or another that one of his friends had told and the atmosphere of the table seemed to return to normal as Melody hummed softly to herself. _The_ _snow won't stick to the weeping willows, the cold air won't blow open the windows…_ The lyrics of the song written by Ceol ran through Melody's thoughts and she hummed that tune lightly to herself as she began to nibble on one of the cookies that she had snagged from the kitchen.

But the peace lasted only for a moment as Roth leaned forward to grin at her. "You said in class earlier that you were a Chimera. Can you shapeshift?" He asked her smoothly, eyeing Melody curiously.

The girl blinked, feeling like a deer caught in headlights. For a moment, a memory of a brown and gray wolf dripping blood flashed in her mind, making her heart thud wildly as she squeezed her eyes shut in a desperate attempt to ward the imagery off. It took her a long moment, during which the whole table eyed her expectantly, before she answered him. "I haven't tried." Melody muttered unhappily. That was a lie, but in truth, she hadn't tried to shapeshift in years. Since Ceol had been killed by a man thinking that he was nothing more than a dog. It had been years since that day, and Melody had been deathly afraid of her lupine form ever since that day.

Roth snorted softly, "Well that's boring." He muttered absently, glancing away from Melody, seeming to write her off.

From there, the rest of lunch passed in a blur. Melody and Zephyr talked quietly, something that Roth seemed to be less than impressed by. And when the bell rang, Melody rose smoothly to her feet and wandered off to her next class, escorted by Zephyr, who guided her off to her next period. Roth glowered after their retreating forms, but other than that, he seemed to be unbothered by this change in events.

For Melody, the rest of her day progressed in peace. She had no other classes with that duo, and found that her last name garnered her a lot less attention in those other classrooms, where members of the 'next generation' were much more common and they cared a lot less about the daughter of Genesis Rhapsodos the deserter. But at least she was in high school, something that had been denied to her for a long while.


End file.
